Cora Alice (Brenton) Murphy (1900 - 1970)

Born 30 Nov 1900 in Marion, Indiana, United States

Ancestors

Descendants

Died 20 Jan 1970 at age 69 in Little Rock, Pulaski, Arkansas, United States [uncertain]

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Biography

Telephone operator in Little Rock, AK after death of third husband, B.C. Murphy, World War II Women's Army, trained as aviation cadet in Texas - served in France and Germany, later was in Women's Army Reserve, active in Veteran's rights after retirement, had an audience with the Pope during the war.

Picture of her shared gravestone with her third husband and true love is located here: [1]

Origin

Cora Alice Brenton was born on 30 November 1900 in Indiana, a daughter of John Elmer Brenton and Mary Etta Wade. Cora had one brother, Dallas Brenton, and a sister, Mary Ellen Brenton.^[1]

Marriage

Cora first married Walden by whom she had two children, Dillard Walden and Etta Frances Walden. She divorced and then was married to Bernice Crittensen Murphy, a widower who was a railroad conductor.

Military Service

Cora was a member of the Women's Army Corps.^[2] After the war, she signed on in the Women's Army Reserve. One letter to a granddaughter was written from a summer camp where she was training new army soldiers. She was, oddly, offered to become an officer but preferred remaining an enlisted person. She gifted the Arkansas State Museum with her collection of large music boxes she acquired in Germany during the war and liked having memorized recitations of good literature and poetry in the evening.. She was known for veteran's rights advocacy at the state level, partly documented by a newspaper article.

She was religious and curious about other religions. Although Protestant Episcopal, she was familiar with Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy, among other religions. She was fond of maintaining an afternoon formal tea at 4 o'clock, a habit she acquired in childhood from her mother. A hobby was various kinds of needlework, also learned from her mother including needlepoint, tatting, crochet and crewel. After her divorce and before her remarriage, she lived in a hotel.

Death

Cora died in January 1970 at Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.^[3]

Burial

• Cora Alice Brenton's grave is located at Roselawn Memorial Park, Little Rock, Pulaski County, Arkansas.^[4]

Sources

1. ↑ edited by her granddaughter
2. ↑ supporting US Army records
3. ↑ [https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:J5QN-YMK United States Social Security Death Index. database, FamilySearch (19 May 2014), Cora Murphy, Jan 1970; citing U.S. Social Security Administration, Death Master File, database (Alexandria, Virginia: National Technical Information Service, ongoing), accessed 20 June 2016.
4. ↑ Annie202, (Jan 07, 2011) Cora A Brenton Murphy Find A Grave: Memorial #63839676, accessed 20 June 2016.

• granddaughter